Essay On The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow

1403 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The role of imagination in literature

“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving, is a fictional story that takes place in the town of Sleepy Hollow. With its main characters, Ichabod Crane, Brom Bones, Katrina Van Tassel, and of course, The Headless Horseman, this story is brought to life. This story helps the reader develop their imagination in multiple ways. This research paper is going to be about the power of imagination that it’s developed in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”. The power of imagination in this story it’s mainly towards the reader more than the characters. Also, this research paper is going to answer the main question the readers ask when they read the story: Who is The Headless Horseman? The purpose of this paper is to put the mind of the reader into …show more content…

He lived in a town called Sleepy Hollow where he used to be a teacher and a choirmaster. He was really famous in the town due to his craziness and the position he held. He is in love with a rich, good looking young lady named Katrina and in the whole story he tries to make her fall in love with him. He has a plan to make her fall in love with him, but there are two major problems: another guy named Brom wants to kill Ichabod because he is also in love with Katrina, and Ichabod has a strong and dangerous imagination that leads him to his …show more content…

So … WHO IS HIM IN REALITY? A figment of the reader’s imagination! “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is a fictional story, which means that it has fictional characters and The Headless Horseman is one of them. While reading the story, the reader starts developing its imagination and starts making up stuff with the help of the other fictional characters’ imagination and the setting of the story. The reader starts making conclusions in their heads about who the Headless Horseman might be which eventually makes him part of their

Show More
Related

  • How Does Washington Irving Use Direct Characterization Of The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow

    449 Words  | 1 Pages

    The story, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, was written by Washington Irving, and the story is about a man name Ichabod Crane who was trying to win Katherina Van Tassel’s hand in marriage, but he is failing. The small town named Sleepy Hollow has a folklore about the Headless Horseman, who rides through the town at night to find his head. Irving explains that Sleepy Hollow has many ghost stories, but the Headless Horseman is the most popular in the town. Ichabod Crane was a school master, and he was killed by the town’s ghost. The townspeople believed Crane was taken by the Galloping Hessian, so the story of the Headless Horseman would not be associated with Crane’s disappearance. As the news about Ichabod’s disappearance rummage through the town, the Brom Bones’ reaction to the news made people question the Galloping Hessian’s part

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of Stephen Crane's 'The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow'

    1078 Words  | 3 Pages

    The readings “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving and The Monster by Stephen Crane are to amazing readings. However, these two texts represent violence and conflicts in different ways, which shows that although they have the same concept their tactic for this same concept is used in a different approach.

    Read More

  • Strange And Exaggerated Characters In Rip Van Winkle

    530 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Washington Irving’s work “Rip Van Winkle,” Irving demonstrates all characteristics of an American Mythology rather humorously. These characteristics affect the story attracting the attention of readers and impacting the reader’s experience of the story by relishing America’s unique attributes and values. In “Rip Van Winkle,” Irving incorporates attributes of American Mythology by setting the story in exciting pastimes, filling the story with strange and exaggerated characters, and featuring magical mysterious events.

    Read More

  • Ichabod Crane's Sleepy Hollow

    569 Words  | 2 Pages

    A philosopher named Paul Brunton said, “We should control our appetite, otherwise we will lose ourselves in the confusion of the world.” Washington Irving’s short story, “The legends of sleepy hollow” spins a tale about Ichabod Crane's experiences as a city teacher, while living in a magical place known as Sleepy Hollow. Appetite defines Ichabod Crane in the three following ways: food, wealth, and superstitions.

    Read More

  • A Comparison Of Headless Horseman And The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow

    1158 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many evenings during the winter, Ichabod spent with the old Dutch wives. They would tell ghost stories as well as other super natural beings and demons while sitting by the fire. There was a certain story that was never left out, the legendary Headless Horseman, or sometimes known as the Hessian of the Hollow. The story went on that there was a soldier who with a cannon ball had gotten his head shot off and since roamed through Sleepy Hollow looking for his lost head while on his horse. The Headless Horseman has a jack-o-lantern that sits in replacement of his head. In addition, a love story is part of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” however many find it to be more of a pure lust or greed story. There was girl named Katrina Van Tassel who was

    Read More

  • Hawthorne’s Exploits and Irving’s Miscues

    1131 Words  | 3 Pages

    Fifteen years separate Washington Irving’s short story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” with Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, “Young Goodman Brown.” The two share an eerie connection because of the trepidation the two protagonists endure throughout the story. The style of writing between the two is not similar because of the different literary elements they choose to exploit. Irving’s “Sleepy Hollow” chronicles Ichabod Crane’s failed courtship of Katrina Van Tassel as well as his obsession over the legend of the Headless Horseman. Hawthorne’s story follows the spiritual journey of the protagonist, Young Goodman Brown, through the woods of Puritan New England where he looses his religious faith. However, Hawthorne’s work with “Young Goodman Brown” is of higher quality than Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” because Hawthorne succeeds in exploiting symbols, developing characters, and incorporating worthwhile themes.

    Read More

  • Comparing Washington Irving's Sleepy Hollow the Movie to the Book

    1408 Words  | 3 Pages

    ?The Legend of Sleepy Hollow? is a short story by Washington Irving. Based on a well-known legend, this story tells the tale of the disappearance of the main character, Ichabod Crane. An effective ghost story, Irving leaves you guessing what the truth is behind the ending. The movie Sleepy Hollow is Hollywood?s portrayal of Irving?s original story. Although the movie is similar to the story in the beginning, the movie takes a twist that leads in another direction that strays far from the original plot.

    Read More

  • The Changing of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

    2577 Words  | 6 Pages

    Over time the language of the original text of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Irving has been reworked to accommodate the change in audience. The Heath Anthology of American Literature has an unabridged version of the original wording (1354-1373). A complete copy of the original text of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" can be found in the young adolescent classic section of a bookstore or the juvenile section in the library. A juvenile edition of the text adapted by Arthur Rackham from 1928 was a replicate of the original it is filled with seven colored illustrations and numerous sketching. A young adolescent version adapted by Bryan Brown from 2001 has been abridged to accommodate the current young reader. The format is changed in Brownâs edition. The yo...

    Read More

  • “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”: Washington Irving's Story vs. Tim Burton's Movie

    862 Words  | 2 Pages

    in creating his vision of the town of Sleepy Hollow and the headless horseman, Katrina,

    Read More

  • Allusion In The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow

    1002 Words  | 3 Pages

    This is an allusion to the Revolutionary war because the headless horseman was a hessian soldier. This explains the theme of supernatural because the Headless Horseman haunts their town and the main character, Ichabod Crane, comes across the ghost of him. Another major allusion in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is Ichabod's belief in witches. The author supports this when saying, “He was, moreover, esteemed by the women as a man of great erudition, for he had read several books quite through, and was a perfect master of Cotton Mather's 'History of New England Witchcraft” (Irving 4).

    Read More

  • Gender Issues in Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

    2339 Words  | 5 Pages

    Benoit, Raymond. Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." The Explicator. Washington: Heldref Publications, 1996. "

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Young Goodman Brown And The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow

    1171 Words  | 3 Pages

    The traveler goodman Brown encounters with the serpentine staff is one supernatural element Hawthorne includes in Brown’s quest. "He had cast up his eyes in astonishment, and looking down again, beheld neither goody Cloyse not the serpentine staff, but his fellow-traveler alone." (Hawthorne 390). Hawthorne’s use of the traveler with the serpentine staff suggests goodman Brown’s own subconscious debate of evil within man and his innocence. All the “witchy” encounters the traveler leads goodman Brown to on his quest seem to only lead him further from finding himself than he was at the start. Washington Irving also uses a supernatural element with the infamous headless horseman in “The Legend of Sleepy

    Read More

  • A Comparison Of Rip Van Winkle And The Sleepy Hollow

    987 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...than usual and Katerina seems to disappoint him and leaves him crestfallen. On his way home he finds a dark and creepy path he takes and sees a dark figure nearby that passes. He finally notices that the man on the horse has no head. He tries to get his horse to go faster but fails, because he is not a skilled rider. He ends up by the church where the Headless Horseman is known to be seen. The Headless Horseman follows and with his detached head throws it at Ichabod forcing him to fall off his horse. The next day, there is no sign of Ichabod, but the horse returns back to the owner’s farm. Later a group of people go looking for Ichabod and all they find is his hat next to a smashed pumpkin. Some people believe that Brom pulled a great prank, but the local folklore and old women know he was taken by the Headless Horseman. Ichabod is never seen again in Sleepy Hallow.

    Read More

  • Diedrich Knickerbocker

    1580 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...cenery of the town and the often odd spiritual occurrences that take place in the town. "Certain it is, the place still continues under the sway of some witching power, that holds a spell over the minds of the good people, causing them to walk in a continual reverie. They are given to all kinds of marvellous beliefs; are subject to trances and visions; and frequently see strange sights, and hear music and voices in the air. The whole neighborhood abounds with local tales, haunted spots, and twilight superstitions." (Irving 1). Using words and descriptions like he did, Irving makes Knickerbocker's stories more believeable because he makes the reader feel like they are actually in the town of Sleepy Hollow. With just a little imagination he turned a ghost story into a credible account of actions that actually took place just by using his fake historian Knickerbocker.

    Read More

  • Sleepy Hollow: The Film and The Story

    1469 Words  | 3 Pages

    Washington Irving’s short story, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” was adapted into a movie titled “Sleepy Hollow” directed by Tim Burton nearly two centuries after the original publication. When the story was adapted as a film, several extensive changes were made. A short story easily read in one sitting was turned into a nearly two-hour thriller, mystery, and horror movie by incorporating new details and modifying the original version of the story. The short story relates the failed courtship of Katrina Van Tassel by Ichabod Crane. His courtship is cut short by the classic romance antagonist-the bigger, stronger, and better looking Broom Bones. Ichabod wishes to marry Katrina because of her beauty but also because of the wealthy inheritance she will receive when her father, Baltus Van Tassel and stepmother, Lady Van Tassel die. However, the film tells the story of Ichabod Crane as an investigator who is sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate the recent decapitations that are occurring. These modifications alter the original story entirely, thus failing to capture the Irving’s true interpretation of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” The film and the original story have similarities and differences in the plot, characters, and setting.

    Read More

More about Essay On The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow

Open Document